Geox to move into India as the sector steps up the pace
The Indian footwear sector’s ambitious plans for expansion over the next five years have been given a boost with another big name brand announcing that it will establish new manufacturing facilities in the country.
According to Vilastrao Deshmukh, the chief minister of Maharashtra state in the west of India, Italian shoemaker Geox is currently looking into setting up a shoe factory in the state. Although he did not provide any further details regarding the size of the investment, the minister, speaking after a week-long visit to Europe, confirmed: "They (Geox) want to start a factory in the state."
The Indian shoe industry already produces a massive volume of footwear (in excess of 2 billion pairs a year); however, nearly 95% of the shoes produced are currently sold domestically. The sector now wants to increase production capacity by up to a staggering 400 times by 2012 and increase the number of shoes exported. Therefore, attracting well-known international producers such as Geox can only help towards achieving this goal.
